In The Name of Love
by Mister Atom
Summary: He was scarred, broken. Even so, an emotion known as love is strongly rooted into his heart and mind. Can a doll of flesh that was scarred and broken be loved? Or will it be cast away, forgotten by those it knew? RATED M FOR SAFETY


**Whoa, a new story from me?**

 **And it's so freaking short?**

 **Damn. Actually, please listen to me first, guys. This came up as a sudden thought, so I'm not really confident if I should continue this as a full-fledge story or not.**

 **Now this is meant to be a light hearted story, but the torrents of emotions will eventually come. The description gave you guys an idea what the story is, so I'll leave the rest to your imagination.**

 **Again, this is a light hearted story, so please excuse the cliché and cheesiness that you might find.**

* * *

"Jii-chan!"

A ten year old boy chirped gleefully as he ran towards the old Kage with a book in his small hands. The book was a decent sized, not to big nor was it too small for the boy. The hard cover of the book featured a drawn picture of dashingly clothed man looking up to an equally beautifully clothed woman standing on a tower's balcony. The artist had done a great job of drawing the art, even as far as going to the littlest bit of details like backgrounds, brick shapes and even shading. But what the bigger picture was not those mentioned, it was the sad, anguished and almost pained look that the two people made.

"Tell me this story!" the young boy surrendered the book he was holding to the old man, who happily took it from him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen would always visit his surrogate grandson's home at least thrice a week. He made sure that every work that was needed to be done was finished before going to visit the child's home. It might seem odd seeing a ten year old having an apartment all to himself, but Hiruzen thought that it was necessary to teach independence and self-discipline to the ten year old as early as possible. The child saw no problem with living alone, but that didn't mean that he's really alone. Hiruzen had ANBU, several of them being his personal guards, guarding the boy; watching over him from the shadows like the professional they were. Living alone was, as it suggested, no doubt lonely for the boy.

Especially with several other circumstances regarding the boy himself.

So, Hiruzen was not surprised when Naruto brought him a book for him to read for bed time. It was already eight, and apparently, good boys and girls go to bed at eight. Hiruzen's old features softened when he saw the title of the book. Romeo and Juliet. A classic fairy tale. The children's version had the violent scenes removed as per censoring agreements, but it still had the important bits and snippets that would stick true to the original version. He trailed wrinkled fingers along the book's hardcover, inwardly wondering where did the boy find such books.

"A fairy tale, Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen asked, not even hiding his amusement. He was expecting the boy to start whining on how he wanted to listen to 'cool ninja stories' as usual, but it seemed that today's a little different. "Why this book, Naruto-kun?"

As expected from a young child, his mask of confusion showed easily when questioned with questions he did not understand. "Why? I'm not allowed to read it?"

"Goodness, no, you are allowed." Hiruzen reassured to boy softly, with a kind grandfather like smile. "I'm just wondering why a different story all of a sudden, I figured that you will be more interested in ninja stories?"

The boy gave Hiruzen his own version of a frown; his pouty lips emphasized with a little bit of sulk. "I know that ninja stories are awesome, Jii-chan… but even I get bored, you know?" the boy whined. "And if it's possible, I want to hear hero-like stories once in a while! Your ninja stories never mentioned anything about saving a princess or something like that, it's about beating the bad guys all the time!"

Outwardly, Hiruzen was smiling. But inwardly, he was a little bit surprised. A ninja's life is not heroic. It's not something worth giving a medal for. Ninjas kill, they only exist to do it. Whether it is for their own safety, or the safety of others, ninjas must kill. So when Naruto said that he got bored of hearing ninjas beating each other to death got him wondering…

"Alright, alright, I'll read this one story for you Naruto-kun. But only this and then you'll sleep, okay?"

"Okay!"

Hiruzen smiled. Then he flipped open the book, and began reading.

 _…_

"…Juliet raises the dagger to an eye's level, looking at it intently. She mutters under her breath, feeling grief and sadness consuming her. 'Oh bloody dagger, I will be thine sheathe.'… and stabs herself with it, dropping lifelessly to the ground, dead." Hiruzen read out. "The End."

Hiruzen closed the book, before looking at Naruto. The boy hadn't slept yet like he expected him to do. The old Kage smiled. "How was that Naruto-kun?"

Naruto made a scared look, confused. "How was that…?" he uttered, seemingly unable to comprehend what had been read to him. "That's sad! That's beyond sad! Romeo died for nothing and Juliet's dead in the end! What do you mean 'how was that Naruto-kun?', huh?"

Hiruzen laughed heartily at hearing the boy's statement and reaction to the ending of the story. Romeo and Juliet did not end there, originally. But since this was a children's version, it had been made short and less bloody as possible. He set the book aside, next to the boy's bed right on top of his end table. "Yes, it is a sad, I'll admit. But don't you think it's amazing, Naruto-kun?"

"Amazing…" the boy parroted as if he had just tasted what Romeo drank from the story. "If you call a death as tragic as that amazing, I'm surprised why they made you Hokage…"

Again, Hiruzen laughed. "No, no… I did not mean that, Naruto-kun." His smile turned a little softer. "Isn't it amazing to see how deep Romeo's love for Juliet is, and the vice versa?" he was still given a confused stare. "Romeo loves Juliet so much that he was willing to fight for her and Juliet loves Romeo even more to have died for him and with him, when you see like that, isn't it a little romantic?"

Naruto's look of confusion slowly dissipated, leaving uncertainty and doubt masking his face. "Uhm… if it's like that, then maybe." The boy's blue eyes looked back at the old Hokage. "But why must those two died even if they love each other so much?"

Surprise colored Hiruzen's face. The old Kage was not expecting him to ask that question. How should he tackle this? Should he explain that it was the author's imaginative mind being the reason, or should he stick into something else? Something more life reflecting?

Hiruzen settled for the second option.

"You see, Naruto, love… can be tragic."

The boy instantly nodded. "True that…"

Hiruzen chuckled. "But at the same time, it's wonderful. With love, Romeo was able to meet Juliet. With love, the two couples were able to experience happiness. With love, they died in the same place together. Love is an emotion that no one can completely understand, Naruto-kun. Love is powerful, there's no denying that. After all, love even managed to kill not one but two people." He snickered when he saw the look of fear crawling its way back to the boy's face. "But in all seriousness, love is a medicine."

"A medicine?" Naruto wondered.

"A medicine, a banner and even a sickness." Hiruzen nodded. "Love cures sadness, hence why most people feel happy when they are with the people they love. Love unites countries, kingdoms and even villages; when a prince and princess from two different kingdoms marry, they represent the unity and trust of both kingdoms." His smile turned a little bit forlorn. "But at the same time, love can be deadly. Feeling love at its most powerful moment could drive a person restless and tired, which explains why you often hear the term lovesick."

The Hokage paused, leaving a moment of silence. He was curious as to how the boy will react or respond to his explanation. And after a moment of silence, he got an answer that surprises him.

"So… let's say that if I was to love everyone, and I really meant everyone, then… we will all be happy?"

He was beyond surprised. The normally calm and collected professor could not stop himself from showing surprise and astonishment.

"That's a great idea isn't, Jii-chan?!" the young boy had a wild megawatt smile on his face. "If I love everyone, and they love me back; then we can all be one happy family and never hate! We won't have to fight any more like the ninjas in your stories did, and – and everyone will be happy!"

' _Minato… you should be proud of your son.'_

But since Minato was not present or here by any means, he would do it in the man's place.

"I'm sure we will, Naruto-kun… I'm sure we will."

* * *

 **Three years later…**

"Hey, hey look! It's Naruto-kun!"

"Really? Let me see him!"

"Kyaaa~! He's so cute isn't he?"

"Um! Short and adorbs to boot!"

His ears twitched for the fourth consecutive time at that moment. He appreciated the praise, really, but being called short was something he definitely did not like. But like pain itself, the truth hurts.

He had no one to blame, aside from his unknown parents, for being less gifted when it comes to the height department. What's more, it seemed that puberty was arriving late for him; he's honestly confused on whether or not he should be glad about that. But on second thought… maybe he should be a little bit upset; when will he grow taller, dammit? Stuck to an unreasonably short height, he was what you'd call a 'baby-faced' person. Blessed with a soft, round face instead of a strong angular jaw, bright inviting blue eyes instead of a sharp and pensive pair, and his hair being longer than most boys' hair didn't help.

Yeah, see it from another angle, this was just as good as a curse.

But there are upsides too. Whenever it's lunch, the girls would let him taste some and sometimes finish their lunch! And for some reason, he got privilege of being the only one to have people help him with class duties!

N – Not that it made him happy, or anything!

And those were just the things here, some people outside of the academy were just as nice.

"Ne, Naruto…" One particular Inuzuka Kiba zombie'd his way all over to Naruto's table with a completely dead look on his face. He plopped down next to the boy, his head landing somewhere near the blonde's shoulder and nape. "Let me copy your theory assignments…" he groaned out as if it's the only thing that could snap him out from his current mood.

Ah… theory…

It's algebra, physics, trigonometry, psychology and biology combined; or in other words, a major pain in the ass. It's the only subject that they have which wasn't exactly what you'd call a ninja related one, but since it was applied in the ninja academy, they're making reasons that it was indeed related and 'essential' for a ninja to learn about it.

Seriously, who the hell theorizes the outcome of standing still with a kunai balanced on the tip of their nose?!

Despite showing a smug-like smile, Naruto harshly pushed the feral boy away from him. "Hmph! Since I'm a good person, I'll let you copy my homework!" he raised his nose high in the air, showing the girls more of his succulent nape, causing them to squeal like the girls they were.

"Really, yaaay…" Kiba droned out monotonously.

It's a common practice for the boys to borrow homework or any assignments from the boy simply because he's easy to approach. Not to mention, despite being a guy, Naruto was kind of cute. No homo. They made him their occasional 'to-go-to' whenever things' were in a pinch.

Naruto watched as Kiba shuffled back to his seat with his book in hand. There's still time before Iruka-sensei arrived, and since today's Wednesday, they will leave earlier.

"Naruto-ku~un!"

The whiskered blonde felt a familiar body form pressing up against his back, emphasizing the healthy pair that the owner possessed. Naruto wanted to shriek and launch himself away from the sudden surprise attack, but a pair of girly strong arms that no girls could possibly have wrapped themselves around his neck; rendering whatever option of escape useless for him. This was him captured, and next was him smothered.

"Aaah…~ Naruto-kun you're so soft and warm…~!" his capturer moaned out as she rubbed her soft cheek into his equally soft cheek. Whatever grip she had around him was so tight that he found it hard to breathe.

"I – I – I – Ino… out… out!" he tapped out on the hold, feeling air leaving his lungs even faster than usual. "Get… off…!"

His attempts of escaping only fueled the girl with more energy to hug him even stronger than before. "Aw gosh! Why can't you be born into my family?! Dad and mum would've spoiled you rotten, and me too!" the enthusiastic blonde girl cooed. "Be my little brother please, please, please, please, please…!"

He managed to free himself from the girl's grip, somehow. "No!" the male blonde breathed in raggedly, after suffering the temporary hold. He then pointed a finger at the fellow blonde, face showing surprise. "What are you doing near me, Ino?! I thought I had restraining orders on you!"

"Ah," Ino showed him a grin while wagging a finger at the same time. "But it expired three days ago, Naruto-kun. You're legally mine once again!"

She pounced.

He hit back, stopping her attempts from forcing herself against him.

"And you've just got those orders legally updated!"

As the two blondes bicker, they have unknowingly disturbed a Nara who was sleeping nearby several desks away.

"Blondes are troublesome…"

The Nara's muttering was quiet, but it was heard by several guys who were sitting on the back. And they couldn't help but agree.

"Moou…" the whiskered blonde scowled as he glared disapprovingly at Ino. "You really don't know when to hold back do you, Ino?"

Instead of feeling sad for being scolded, the girl's smile went a centimeter wider. "Nope!" then she gave him a teasing wink, as well as a sultry smile. "…at least not when it comes to you."

Naruto's face was far from impressed or embarrassed. "Ugh… disgusting…"

Ino was his resident self-proclaimed big sister figure. While it was true that she was older than him, it was only by a single month! He was born on October, while she was born on September! No one pays attention to one month differences! She could be a tease and an annoyance, just the worst kind of combination. What's worse was that she had no shame of being so open in doing those!

He'd met her dad when he was younger and he was a good person, it's really hard to see that someone as flirty and confident as Ino would be the result from someone as calm and composed like Inoichi-san. Then that only meant one thing, she took after her mother. God, it's a good thing that he hadn't met Ino's mother yet; otherwise the girl's dream of making him her brother could have been true.

Everyone scrambled into their seats when they heard the sound of the classroom's door being slid open. A tall man wearing Konoha's standard chunin uniform entered the room, his brown hair styled into a spiky ponytail that could've easily mistaken him as a Nara if not for the energetic attitude he had.

"Alright class, settle down, Kiba, you're going to see me for detention today." The teacher sent the feral boy a small glare. "I know that you're copying Naruto's book." He then directed his glare at the aforementioned blonde. "And Naruto, try not to make your classmates dumber, okay?"

The blonde shrugged, looking away.

Clearing his throat, Iruka began today's lessons.

"Alright, grab your pens and paper, we're going to have a pop quiz!"

Hearing that announcement, the majority of the class groaned as one.

Ino was one of them. "Aw man… Iruka-sensei can be ruthless, eh?"

Naruto huffed, his arms crossed. "Don't talk to me."

This only brought a smile on the Yamanaka's face. "Ara, ara… Naruto-kun is so cold~…"

The boy got more annoyed. "Then I must be a penguin, with Gunther being my first name." the boy growled.

"Questions are taken from past years' papers, so you'll have a higher chance of passing this." Iruka announced. "As usual, cheaters will be suspended and given extra tasks to do during the weekends." Several students threw their pens already. "Timer starts… now."

The atmosphere of the class sunk into silence. Those who chose to try and put effort on filling their paper with answers were thinking really hard, those who had given up since the beginning were either asleep or sitting idly staring at space.

For a certain blonde haired boy personally, he found no trouble in doing the pop quiz. As what Iruka-sensei had said, these questions were taken from past papers, meaning that previous graduates had answered them. And since he was held back last year, he recognized several questions and could easily answer them. Ino may not look like it but she was actually pretty smart, but not as smart as her rival, Haruno Sakura.

Said rival was a pink haired girl coming from a normal civilian family. Her reason for being in the academy was, as expected, the resident last Uchiha. She was a textbook girl, she memorized and understood things only by the book. Give her a kunai and she'll throw it. Give her a spoon and she'll use it to eat. While many other girls were in the same kind of situation as she was, Sakura stood out the most and it was due to her skills in academics.

Taijutsu? Almost nil.

But as for her looks… meh, she's cute.

Well, not as cute as the other girls that he knew, but there's a charm about her. She's like those girls who would secretly fawn over the love of her life at first, then show no restrain after countless times of being ignored. An annoyance? Maybe… potentially, she could be as bad as Ino.

Naruto was grateful that she was leaning over to the Uchiha's side.

The Uzumaki's scowl became even deeper as his eyes were fixed on to the test paper. Academically, his scores were just above average, but nothing as good as the last Uchiha's or miss forehead over there. However, just like any other normal students out there, tests like this annoyed him somehow. Maybe it's because of how no one could predict when the test would be given? Maybe it's because that he wasn't prepared to take it?

It's these things that made him question whether being a ninja was worth it or not.

"Why do you want to be a shinobi…? What the fuck's wrong with thi-"

"Naruto."

From the very front of the class room, Iruka leveled the blonde boy a glare.

Naruto grumpily lowered his voice. He laid his eyes back on to his question paper, making sure that he read the question correctly. "How am I supposed to answer a question this vague?"

Grumbling, he picked up his pencil and began answering regardless.

 **Twenty minutes later…**

"Alright, pens down."

Several groans were heard, telling Iruka that not all finished the test.

"Please pass your papers forward and you may leave the classroom for your first period break. Be back here on time, unless you want extra work to do." The teacher received the papers that were handed to him by the students seated on the front-most row, before compiling them orderly into a neat stack.

The brown haired teacher watched with a smile of nostalgia as his students leave the classroom with their friends, chatting and some were even running. He sat back down to his chair, releasing a sigh. Being a teacher was hard, way harder than being a normal serving chunin; but it beats getting sent out to gate duty. He pitied his co-workers who were currently suffering that kind of fate.

"Hm?"

He could not hide his interest when his eyes landed on top most paper on the stack. He read the student's name. "Uzumaki Naruto…" he then smiled after uttering the name. That boy gave him more problem than he did himself when he was younger, unknowingly. While he's technically quiet, diligent and attentive; there's no telling what he'll do.

He's unpredictable in some way, but nothing too brash or abrasive. So far, the worst he'd done was breaking the training posts out in the fields during a taijutsu practice. Boy did he have some nasty punches…

But all in all, he's an excellent student, on par with their class's resident Uchiha when it comes to direct ninja skills.

The first question on the paper was what made his stare linger.

"' _To protect those I love'_ … huh, Naruto?" the pineapple haired instructor murmured to himself. "You'll go far, very far."

* * *

"Ah, Naruto-chan, welcome back!"

Naruto was an orphan.

"Yo Nee-chan, Jii-jii."

The only thing he had similar to a family was the Ichiraku father and daughter.

"Take a seat, I'll get dad to prepare a bowl for you right away!"

He managed a smile that his classmates would find rare. It got even wider when Ayame returned it with her own smile. The lithe bodied boy took several steps in order to reach his favorite stool, upon sitting down, he could already smell his order coming up ready to be served.

"Here you go, Naruto-chan! A Naruto-Special on the house!"

The warm bowl of steaming ramen was gently set down directly in front of him. The thick soup was a sight to behold, signifying the originality of the family's recipe. Since this was a ramen special only to him, the toppings were off the menu. Normally, they would use tonkotsu slices as the main topping, but what's on his bowl was roasted belly slices. He liked the combination of the broth's smooth and thick flavor with the crispy and lightly seasoned charred meat. Sliced mushrooms were available, as well as menma.

"Thanks Nee-chan." He said his thanks before pulling out a pair of chopsticks from the draw.

After uttering thanks, he digs in.

And he was literally in heaven. However, his heaven was interrupted when a conversation started.

"So how was school, Naruto-chan?"

"It's normal." He shrugged, not really giving a proper answer. "Everyone's nice, but some are too nice for comfort."

A heartwarming laughter.

"Hahaha! That's because you're so pretty, Naruto-chan!"

Despite the feminine term of compliment, he was not fazed. He's used to being called that, no matter how sad and ridiculous it was.

"But you're prettier, Nee-chan." He replied back smoothly, almost not intending the comeback. "I'd marry you if I could."

Another round of laughter.

"You'll make the hearts of the girls in your class melt if you say that carelessly, Naruto-chan. And thank you, you're so adorable."

He swallowed the soup of the ramen, feeling warm inside.

"I mean it, you know?"

A fit of giggling.

"Of course you do. Now eat up, I'll prepare another bowl."

He ate his ramen without disturbance and before he knew it, he's finished his second bowl. He opened his purse, taking out the necessary amount of money before placing it on the counter top. He stood up from his favorite stool, twisting his body towards the curtains of the exit. He gave the place one last smile, before leaving wordlessly.

The ramen bar got quiet and the only sound heard was the sound of soup boiling and Teuchi's quiet sobbing from the kitchen. Little did anyone know, there's a small shrine placed just behind the counter, and a picture of a young girl with brown hair, smiling was placed in it.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, you asked for my presence?"

It's rare for one named Shimura Danzo to be called into the Hokage's office by the Hokage himself. The old war hawk would normally waltz his way in with a believable reason. But this time, it was different. Hiruzen had a task, and only his old teammate could do it.

"Danzo, my old friend, I need your help."

Underneath the bandaged section of his face, Danzo's crippled eye seemingly rose in interest.

"It's about a certain boy, yes…" Hiruzen got quiet for a moment. "I fear that his condition is worsening and that it might have an impact in his future career."

In the room filled with two veteran shinobis, one the Hokage himself and the other one his aide, the air itself tensed.

"I need someone to watch over him. Someone from your roster."

If both of Danzo's eyes were visible, Hiruzen would've seen the slightest hint of surprise on his old teammate's face. The old war hawk did not reply instantly, making it look like he's trying to assess Hiruzen's request; figuring out the Kage's true objective. Danzo knew his former teammate, he knew him well. He was a brother, friend, superior and – surprisingly – a good leader. But he'd seen way past those fronts. He'd seen the Sarutobi on the verge of breaking down, he'd seen the Kage cry over the result of his orders and he'd seen the Kage becoming a monster to his enemies.

Unbelievably as it may be, the man that everyone knows as the Hokage was not as strong as they thought he was.

He's old, surprisingly forgetful and most importantly, human. The mistake that Hiruzen had made was more than he could count. It'd be like counting sand. But who was he to speak of another man's mistakes?

"Do you have anyone in mind already?" Danzo asked, wondering.

"I do not, I'm hoping that you will know better." Hiruzen said with his chin perched on the top of his palms. "But know this Danzo, should this become anything more than just an observation, I will take actions myself." the glare leveled by the Hokage to his teammate was easily dismissed, considering how many times Danzo had seen it.

"…only observations?"

Hiruzen closed his eyes, he leaned back and then coughed several times to his fist. "Perhaps I should correct myself." he straightened his back, both literally and figuratively. "Should Naruto knows about your division or this mission itself, I will then take action."

Danzo nodded, stoically. "Understood." He performed a ram seal, and a brown folder appeared on his hand. He threw the folder at Hiruzen and it landed safely on his desk. "Read that and I'll get her ready."

Hiruzen kept his eyes on the folder even when Danzo allowed himself to exit his office without his particular permission.

"Am I doing the right thing…?" murmured the old man as he raised his head, facing the ceiling of his office. "Will you still respect me, Minato?"

Naruto… his surrogate grandson… he treasured him as if the boy was his own blood and flesh.

" _Noooo! JII-CHAAAAN!"_

Hiruzen went cold. It was the same kind of chill that he felt when he was being posted in the frontlines of the Third Great Shinobi War.

" _AAAAAAH! IT HUUURTS!"_

The old man shut his eyes closed, but it did him no good. The lack of vision only served as a better way of making the sounds more audible in his head.

" _D – Don't hurt them Jii-chan! Please!"_

His eyes snapped open quickly as they were when they're shut.

" _I – It hurts… my… my… body hurts…"_

Hiruzen took the file with a strong grip, causing it to wrinkle just a little bit. He cut the seal open before taking a read of the profile inside.

"Naruto, this is for your own good."

That's what he always said… always.

But was it truly for the boy?

* * *

He arrived at his decent sized apartment with the door locked behind him. He casually took his sandals off, placing them neatly on the small shoe rack he installed to the wall just near the door. The orange wearing blonde took off his jacket, showing the black fishnet shirt he always wore underneath it and then throwing the jacket to his sofa.

Inside the kitchen, he opened his cupboard to grab a mug for himself. It's still early in the evening, so coffee's still fine for him. Taking out the sachet packaging of a local instant coffee brand, he proceeded to make the drink for himself, pouring hot water into the mixture from a dispenser.

He stirred the mug as he walked back into the living room, setting it down on the small coffee table just inches away from his sofa. He turned the TV on with the remote and tried to find a good channel to watch. And since the clue word was 'tried', he shut it off several minutes after not finding a good channel to watch.

He slid the strings that he used to keep his blonde hair into a ponytail off, letting it flow down like a cascade of golden waterfall from the cliff. He placed old, worn string on the table just beside his mug. Settling down on his couch, he brought himself into a comfortable position with his mug in hand.

He sipped from the mug, taking a little sip of its content.

"…tastes like shit."

It's bitter, hot yet satisfying at the same time.

It's a flavor that'd leave a bad aftertaste in his mouth, but for some reason, he's addicted to it. He tried to let go, but found himself drinking even more and more each day. He tried consulting the doctor, but like they cared anyway.

The flavor's dark, heavy and bitter…

But it's worth the bitterness.

Just like love.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Okaaaay… maybe this won't be as light hearted as you thought it might be. But worry not, this story will still be enjoyable regardless.**

 **Now to those of you wondering as to why I'm putting up another story so soon, it's because that my interest fluctuates between creating a crossover story and an original canon driven plot. It's something that even I can't control. Please, bear with me.**

 **But know this, this Naruto will be a little bit different, maybe even different from several other characters that you've read from other people's story in FF. I'd like to say that the character that I have implemented Naruto with was something that I'd thought of myself and not through plagiarizing.**

 **Again, sorry for the short chapter, but consider this a prologue and test chapter for me to see the response to this story.**


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